Benson Stadium sparkles, and so does Hall of Fame Game

CANTON The stars weren’t out Thursday night, but the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys certainly looked ready for prime time in sparkling new Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

The Cowboys rallied from an early two-score deficit to beat the Cardinals 20-18 in front of 21,126 fans during an entertaining Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

Neither team played its starters. It is a preseason game after all, the first game in a long NFL season. So it’s difficult to glean much for the Cowboys, who went 13-3 last year, and the Cardinals, who stumbled to 7-8-1 last season after being in the NFC Championship Game two years ago.

But the game was a win for Canton and its $137 million stadium, especially after last year’s contest was cancelled because of poor field conditions.

What the game lacked in name recognition — no Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott for Dallas, no Larry Fitzgerald and Patrick Peterson for Arizona — it made up for in highlight-reel plays and impressive overall action on both sides.

Not long after former Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and Dallas owner Jerry Jones were introduced as members of this year’s Hall of Fame class, the Cardinals scored on their first possessions of the game to get the night rolling.

“It’s always special to be in Canton, but when Kurt was announced and walked on the field right before the game, we had chills,” said Fitzgerald, who caught passes from Warner for many years and undoubtedly will be enshrined here some day. “It was also great to see the offense move the ball and get touchdowns on those first two drives.”

Dallas responded with some plays from guys who looked like established stars, not guys trying to hold on to roster spots.

Wide receiver Brice Butler stretched out for a diving 32-yard grab that led to a 23-yard field goal for Sam Irwin-Hill, which cut Arizona’s lead to 15-10 with 7:51 left in the second quarter.

Tight end Rico Gathers showed off some of the basketball skills he picked up at Baylor to account for the Cowboys’ first score. The 6-foot-6 former All-American forward skied to bring in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kellen Moore late in the first quarter.

Gathers was playing because the Cowboys held Jason Witten out.

“… A lot of guys are getting an opportunity to play,” Witten, another player likely to be enshrined in Canton some day, said about what the Cowboys can get out of a game such as Thursday. “So you put your best foot forward and you go out there and perform and let the film speak for itself. There’s nothing like playing games for us, and this is the first opportunity we get to go do it, and we want to make our team proud. We started last year really good, and this year good, so these games do matter.”

The Cardinals, with Blaine Gabbert at quarterback, weren’t as flashy as the Cowboys but effective nonetheless. Kerwynn Williams and Andre Ellington finished off scoring drives on their first two possessions with 5- and 3-yard TD runs, respectively.

“Moore vs. Gabbert” isn’t exactly marquee-worthy stuff. But the two veteran QBs put on a pretty good show as their offensive lines gave them plenty of time to throw.

They combined to complete 13 of 14 passes for 239 yards in the first quarter. Gabbert’s first incompletion didn’t come until the 7:07 mark of the second quarter.

Moore made one of the few mistakes on this night when he was picked off in the end zone on an athletic play by Arizona corner back Brandon Williams late in the second quarter.

The 27-year-old Gabbert, who has posted a 9-31 record in his NFL career since being the 10th overall pick of the 2011 draft, completed 11 of 14 passes for 185 yards in his one half of action.

The 28-year-old Moore, who went undrafted in 2012 after a remarkable college career at Boise State, finished 12-of-17 for 182 yards, one touchdown and a pick before not playing in the second half.

The Cowboys scored on the opening drive of the second half, with QB Cooper Rush finding Uzoma Nwachukwu on fourth-and-3 for a 14-yard touchdown pass. That gave Dallas its first lead of the night at 17-15.

The Cardinals regained the lead late in the third quarter on Matt Wile’s 40-yard field goal, only to have Irwin-Hill connect on a 43-yard kick with 10:14 left to put Dallas ahead 20-18.

Wile couldn’t answer, hooking a 32-yarder wide left with 7:03 left.

Elliott didn’t get in the game, but there was a former Ohio State Buckeye carrying the ball for Dallas on Thursday. Rod Smith gained 64 yards on 18 carries. He converted a fourth-and-1 play near midfield to help the Cowboys put the game away.